For 15 years, Mike Makarena lived with a shattered spine, a wheelchair and the finality of a doctor’s verdict that he would never walk again. Today, the 46-year-old is standing, a change he says followed prayers offered by Prophet Dr David Owuor at a recent healing crusade in Nakuru.
Makarena had been confined to a wheelchair since 2010, following a horrific road accident that altered the course of his life. He was travelling from Mombasa to Meru when a 12-wheeler rammed into his vehicle from behind near the General Motors area. The impact shattered his spine and left him in a coma for seven months.
“I did not just lose the use of my legs, I lost my life as I knew it,” Makarena said in an interview with The Nairobian.
At the time of the accident, Makarena was an entrepreneur running a transport company alongside other business ventures. The crash not only paralysed him from the waist down but also drained his finances and forced him into a prolonged battle for survival.
“I suffered extensive injuries. My spine was crushed, and my entire lower body was paralysed,” he recalled. “I spent two years in the hospital, and the treatment consumed all my savings from the transport business. But survival and healing became my only priority.”
He credits Dr Oluoch Olunya, the surgeon who operated on him, for saving his life. However, the prognosis that followed was devastating.
“He later informed me that I would never walk again,” Makarena said.
For more than a decade, Makarena lived with that reality. He adapted to life in a wheelchair, endured long-term medication and channelled his energy into advocacy for persons living with disabilities (PWDs). Despite his physical limitations, he became a prominent voice in Meru County, championing disability rights, philanthropy and political engagement.
His activism saw him serve as chairman of the Meru County Committee for Persons Living with Disabilities, where he worked to implement former Governor Kiraitu Murungi’s vision of expanding opportunities for PWDs through education, economic empowerment and social inclusion.
In 2021, his efforts were formally recognised when he received the Distinguished Son of Meru (DSM) award from the Meru County Awards and Honours Committee, for his work with persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Yet behind the public activism lay a private struggle, pain, dependence and the quiet weight of final medical verdicts.
Spiritual encounter
That is why what happened in Nakuru earlier this year has sparked intense debate. Makarena was among the thousands who attended Prophet Dr David Owuor’s healing crusade in the city. It was there, he says, that he experienced a spiritual encounter that marked the beginning of his recovery.
“I believe it was God,” he said simply. “I prayed. I believed. And something changed.”
In recent days, Mike Makarena has been seen in public without his wheelchair for the first time since the accident.
Photographs circulating widely show him standing, walking short distances, and even climbing stairs with a walking stick. He has also been spotted in regular sneakers — a departure from the specially designed footwear his condition had long required.
“For the first time in 15 years, I can sit on a normal chair and stand up on my own,” he said. “That alone is something I never thought possible.”
The images have sparked shock, disbelief, and scepticism. “People are stunned,” Makarena said. “Some don’t believe it is me. Others are afraid. I have even met pastors who literally ran away in shock.”
As debates rage over miracle healing linked to Prophet Owuor’s ministry, Makarena has become a vocal defender of faith-based testimonies.
“When I say I am healed, I know exactly what I am saying,” he said. “I have been under medication most of my adult life. But through prayer and unwavering faith, I now have the strength to stand, to believe, and to walk.”
The controversy escalated after Health CS Aden Duale ordered investigations into two doctors following claims at a Nakuru crusade that prayer had healed conditions, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, and physical disabilities
Makarena criticised the move, insisting that faith and healing are deeply personal matters.
He acknowledged medicine’s importance but argued that faith and science need not conflict. “Even doctors — highly trained and skilled — fall sick,” he said. “Many medics accept that healing ultimately comes from God. Let faith be faith and medicine remain medicine. The two are not enemies.”
Makarena defended Prophet Owuor, warning that attacks on religious leaders or medics sharing faith-based experiences undermine freedom of belief.
Despite national debate, his focus remains personal: recovery, faith, and purpose. He still uses a walking aid but says his quality of life has dramatically improved. “I can stand, I can walk, I can move around. That is progress I cannot deny,” he said.
Looking ahead, he hopes to inspire those living with disabilities or long-term illnesses.
“I have lived on both sides, medical reality and faith,” he said. “My message is simple: do not give up. I am a testimony that things can change.”